Surprise
by Lethal-chan
Summary: A tale of the past and the secrets that can sometimes haunt even the most obvious of people. Probably some OOC, but I really like this one so far.
1. Lupin

Yep, new chapter every POV switch... And the Chapter title is who's POV it is.  
  
Disclaimers: I'm bored and I have a computer and too much free time... that doesn't mean I own them... sadly.  
  
Warnings: None thus far?  
  
!!!!!  
  
The wall was blank. Much like I wished my mind was. It amazed me how much it hurt. I thought after losing the others I could take this kind of pain. Heh, guess I was wrong.  
"Remus?" I jump slightly and turn towards the door, my hand already subconsciously going for my wand. I relaxed slightly when I realized who it was.  
"Oh, sorry Molly, I wasn't paying attention. What is it?" I ask quietly, exhaling a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Molly Weasley smiled at me tiredly.  
"Well, Harry's here, I thought you might want to come down and say hello."  
"Yes, I think I will Molly, just. give me a moment please." Mrs. Weasley nodded and left the room quietly. I inhale a deep shuddering breath. I know I should rush downstairs and greet Harry warmly, assure him I do not blame him for what happened to Sirius, but I don't think I'm quite ready to face the boy yet. It was one thing at the platform, where I had a specific goal of making sure things went well for Harry after all that happened, but now, a month and a half later.  
Well, I suppose there's nothing I can do. I rise from the bed and gather my robes about myself. A cough from the doorway makes me jump a second time. This time I get my wand out and a curse half-way out of my mouth before I stop myself in surprise.  
"Severus?" I blink at him in bewilderment. Severus Snape gives me a long, cool stare and crosses his arms over his chest casually.  
"I told Potter you were out before Molly could say anything," he said, striding into the room and closing the door behind himself. I frown at him. He smirks at me.  
"You're not ready to see Potter yet. Even if you don't blame him for what happened to Black," he says calmly. I stare at him blankly for a long moment then sigh.  
"So, who do you blame for it then?" I start at both the sudden question and the fact that Severus is quite suddenly right across from me.  
"Well." I begin quietly. To be totally honest I hadn't given it a lot of thought, the memory was still too fresh, too painful. "I think I blame Bellatrix mostly."  
"Good."  
"I place some blame on Sirius too..."  
"Oh?"  
"He should..." I pause and inhale slowly. He should have been more careful. But I know if I say it I'll break down, the one thing I would not do in front of anyone, especially Severus Snape.  
"Have been more careful?" he finishes for me. My head snaps up and I stare at him with wide eyes. He smirks slightly.  
"Y-yeah..."I murmur, looking away and clenching my fist around my wand a few times before pocketing it. He casts a long look at me and sighs.  
  
"You're the only one left," he mutters, his tone slightly bitter. I frown and run a hand through my hair.  
"Of what?"  
"Of your little group. Sure, Pettigrew is still alive, but we know how good that is." I gritted my teeth, near uncontrollable rage filling my chest at the mention of Wormtail. But he is right. Of Prongs, Wormtail, Padfoot, and myself, I was the only one still alive and on what I considered to be the right side. I blinked suddenly as I realized something. It hurt. It hurt having the knowledge that I was the last one of our group. Not even Lily was around anymore...  
"Are you alright Remus?" I jerked and blinked at Snape, startled to realize I had tears streaming down my face. I turn away quickly, not so much ashamed as not wanting to show weakness. Despite Dumbledore's trust in the man, there were still the natural hostilities from our school days that controlled our behavior, even now.  
"I'm fine," I manage, barely keeping my voice steady. I hear him sigh and suddenly he has wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind, his chin resting lightly on the curve of my neck. I bite my lip hard. I want to yell, hit, or at least ask him what he thinks he's doing, but I know, and I can't stop. The tears flow more freely now, still he says nothing, just squeezes gently and murmurs quiet, soothing phrases in a language I do not recognize.  
It is a long time before I've finished crying. But never once did Snape sigh or make any sort of disapproving or disheartening movement or sound. He simply muttered away near my ear, arms supporting me as I soaked the sleeve of his robe with my tears. I sigh, feeling rather empty inside. Without a word he lets go and guides me to the bed, making me realize I am also exhausted beyond belief.  
I watch him through bleary eyes for a moment as he helps me into bed. I cannot help but notice the gentleness with which he does it. And an odd thought strikes me.  
"Severus... what ever happened to Evelina?" He stops abruptly, startled about this question that has apparently come out of nowhere.  
"She died." His answer is short, his voice hardened slightly with pain.  
"Oh..." I murmur quietly. After a moment of awkward silence he stands and turns away, and I feel my eyelids droop closed.  
"I will come and fetch you at dinner," is the last thing I hear before I drift off to sleep.  
  
!!!!!  
  
Disturbing thought, isn't it? Nice Snape... I dunno, does he seem OOC?  
  
Review? 


	2. Snape

Hmmm...  
  
Disclaimers: Not mine, nope.  
  
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I watch him for a moment in silence as his breathing slows to the steady rhythm of sleep. I sigh and turn away, making my way into the hall where I take to examining the elf heads that line the walls to cover up the activity in my head. Whether he meant to or not, Remus has certainly dredged up a lot of memories I would rather have stayed buried in the murky depths of my hated past.  
"Evelina..." I mutter quietly to myself, eyes half-closing. It had been so long since I'd heard her name, and even longer since I had allowed myself the joy of even saying it. Fifteen years... hard to believe it had really been that long. I had almost forgotten she had ever even existed.  
"Oh, Severus, what are you doing up here?" I opened my eyes and turned my disinterested gaze to Molly Weasley.  
"I was just examining the... trophies of the previous Blacks is all," I explain coolly. She frowns at me, disgust evident in her eyes, but suddenly her face softens.  
"You've been thinking about Evelina again, haven't you?" I blink at her in mild shock. Her smile softens further.  
"If there's one thing I've learned about you Severus, it's that you always had a soft spot for Evelina Guthrie. You always get this rather forlorn look on your face when you've been thinking of her. It's been a long time since you've looked like that though... did Remus bring her up while you were talking?" I stare at her, rather amazed at the insight this woman I thought so little of had into my behavior. Her smile is warm, and unlike most of the other smiles offered me in this place, a real, honest smile.  
"You never cease to amaze me Molly. Yes, Remus brought it up. I was rather surprised no one has told him yet." I answer after a moment of studying her.  
"It wasn't our place to tell him, although I'm sure they would have if they thought it would help anyone in anyway..."  
"And you wouldn't have?" I interrupt, fighting to keep my glare to a minimum. She frowns slightly.  
"I have no judgment, so I would never know when would be a good time to tell them," she says dismissively, obviously uncomfortable despite her attempts to hide it. I pause for a moment and study her in silence.  
"You're hiding something Molly." I inform her after letting her fidget nervously while I stew over a conclusion I had drawn several moments ago. She stares at me with wide eyes for a moment before turning an interesting shade of red and hurrying off, muttering something about checking on the children. I frown after a back and contemplate following her, but decide that if Molly knows something, then Arthur probably knows it as well. This thought in mind, I head downstairs, intent on finding out what secrets were being kept about my fiancé, long ago deceased.  
  
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SHOCK!! Fiancé!! Snape?!!?  
  
Thoughts? Then share them!! Review now! 


	3. Uh Arthur I think twitch

Yeppers...  
  
Disclaimers: Still not mine, sad to say.  
  
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I was sitting in the kitchen, the latest Daily Prophet spread out on the table before me, but my mind was not on the contents of the page I had been staring at for almost an hour, it was on what my darling Molly had revealed to me just days before about a girl friend of hers from school. What was the name? Ah yes, Evelina Guthrie. Wait a minute, I know that name! She was Severus's girlfriend in the fourth year on! Stunned by my own stupidity, I slap myself on the forehead. Well, that certainly cleared up why Molly hadn't said anything about this friend before. Evelina and I had met in passing once and the incident had left me with a bad burn on my forearm and toasted robes and her with a long cut running along her jaw. I had complained to Molly about the incident, and then forgotten it promptly as I tend to do with unimportant, unpleasant adventures.  
Satisfied that I had identified why the woman's name had been nagging in the back of my head, I turned my attention to what Molly had actually told me about Evelina and why it could possibly be important. I frown. Molly had told me several other people had known... unfortunately, most of them were dead. Damn He who must not be named...  
"Arthur, you've been staring at that page for at least 20 minutes now," a familiar snide voice cuts into my thoughts. I scowl darkly and look across the table where Severus Snape has seated himself.  
"What do you want Severus?" I snap with just as much ice in my voice as when he had addressed me. He smirks a little and folds his fingers together neatly.  
"Your wife is keeping secrets Arthur," he explains calmly. I frown at him.  
"About what?"  
"About Evelina Guthrie... surely you remember? She would be the girl who set fire to your-"  
"I know who she is Severus."  
"Mm, yes, I suppose you would, now wouldn't you? Alright, what has she told you about her?"  
"What business of yours is it?" I ask, scowling darkly at him. Despite their being together through their last years at Hogwarts, I had heard nothing of them afterwards.  
"If I knew something about your wife, wouldn't you want to know what it was?"  
"Well... yes... but she's my wife."  
"And Evelina was my fiancé." I stop and stare at him, surprised at his bluntness. My natural hostilities towards Severus had always stopped me from questioning his past too much, but to miss out on the fact he had had a fiancé...  
"Molly's mentioned her a few times..." I say hesitantly, debating whether to tell him or not. I am saved when Dumbledore suddenly strides in, his robes slightly dirty and his face weary. Severus is immediately on his feet, offering Dumbledore his chair.  
"Thank you Severus, but I've only stopped by for a moment to make sure that Harry has arrived alright," Dumbledore says calmly, smiling warmly at the greasy-haired fellow.  
"Yes he has... I believe Arthur was in charge of the operation..." Severus's gaze turns toward me at the same time as Dumbledore's.  
"Everything went marvelously Sir, not a whisper of trouble."  
"Good, good. Then I'm afraid I must be on my way again. Please tell Molly that I'm afraid we're going to need a lot of food tonight, everyone has been entirely too busy to eat and we're all quite famished. I should say we will be back around seven."  
"Of course Dumbledore, please take care." There is a moment of silence as we wait for Dumbledore to exit, and then Severus turns his gaze back to me.  
"You were saying?" he asks coolly, crossing his arms across his chest.  
"I don't know what else to tell you." I lie, not wanting to tell him what I knew. He scowls slightly before turning and storming out without a word. I breathe a silent sigh of relief as the door closes behind him. Severus always did make me nervous.  
  
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Ow... I think I hurt myself with that one.  
  
Review? 


	4. Snape Again if I remember correctly

Hokay...  
  
Disclaimers: Feh. Hn. And wet noodles.  
  
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I'd been correct, Arthur did know what his wife was hiding, but it was obvious he was not going to tell me. Let's see... who else might know...  
"Professor Snape?" I frown and turn towards the small voice just above and to the left of me and spot the youngest of the Weasley clan peering down at me from the banister.  
"What is it Weasley?" I ask, glowering at her in an attempt to make her hurry up about what she had to say. It's a wasted effort though, Ginny Weasley certainly wasn't one to back down from a mere Potion's Professor, no matter what ugly looks he gave her.  
"I know about your fiancé you know. So try and be a little nicer and I'll tell you." the nerve of this child...  
"Oh you do, do you? And what, pray tell, could a child such as yourself know about my fiancé?"  
"Well, I know what Mum and Dad aren't telling you," she answers, mimicking my condescending tone almost exactly. I must say, I'm rather impressed.  
"Then why don't you share it with me?"  
"Then why don't you try and be a little nicer to us 'children'?" she replies just as quick as before. She certainly is haughty, this one. After a moment of glaring at each other she rolls her eyes and turns her back to me, instead leaning on the railing so all I see is the curtain of signature Weasley curls that hangs down her back.  
"Mum says a lot of things about Evelina to me, but most of them I bet you know already, so I'll tell you the one Mum didn't want to tell anyone, because then the Dark Lord might find out and get angry with you." I listen in silence, curious as to what could make the Dark Lord angry with me that he hadn't already punished me for.  
"I can't tell you EXACTLY what Mum said, but here's a hint: Horatia Evelina Snape."  
And then she was gone.  
  
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One of my more favorable castings of Ginny. Alright, last chapter until I get at least four reviews saying I should continue this, because I'm not entirely sure I like this story. 


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